EU as historical project can be completed only with Ukraine

2 min read

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said he is sure that the historic project of the European Union can be considered complete only with Ukraine, since the Ukrainian border is the border of modern European civilization.

"Ukraine is a huge potential of human power. It is a huge potential of human belief, and we have demonstrated it many times. Ukraine is an EU optimistic country, with a unique belief in Europe. With respect to the European Union, I want to emphasize that this grandiose historical project can be accomplished and completed only with Ukraine, because it is not the Urals, and our northeastern border is the border of modern European civilization," he said in Kyiv on Friday at the 15th Annual Meeting of Yalta European Strategy (YES) organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

Poroshenko also noted that Ukraine was moving towards integration into NATO and was doing so "not with empty hands."

"We thanked the world for solidarity for three years, but we defended every piece of Ukrainian land on our own. We de facto offer this defense bloc one of the strongest armies on the continent, and most importantly, we have a unique experience of how to defend ourselves," Poroshenko said.

"The final overcoming of the 'colonial status' will be Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO," Poroshenko said.